Vexed Bermoothes

So, what to do when the uproar about corruption, mismanagement, secrecy, and lack of accountability becomes so great that the country’s reputation begins to get sullied?
Of course, hire an overseas PR agency to spin your way out of it! Brilliant!
Nevermind the fact that BIBA already has one for this purpose. Nevermind the fact that [...]

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The PLP’s attacks on the Royal Gazette have now attracted the attention of the organisers of Sunshine Week, the international event celebrating “freedom of information” laws that is supported by the American Society of Newpaper Editors.
It was after the Royal Gazette’s participation in Sunshine Week that Government removed its subscriptions, advertising, and sponsorship from publications [...]

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In a case similar to the PLP’s treatment of the Royal Gazette, Guyana’s Stabroek News was subjected to attacks from their own Government. All very familiar stuff.
Stabroek News Editor Anand Persaud describes the battle, and how advertising was restored after 17 months of intense international criticism of the Guyanese Government, as well as pressure [...]

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Of course we have diverse news media in Bermuda: each radio station chooses different sentences from the Royal Gazette to read on air.

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The Association of Caribbean Media Workers has published its annual “overview of major developments affecting the practice of journalism and freedom of expression in the Caribbean.”
Different countries, different circumstances, but almost everywhere concern that factors internal to the workings of the media and various external elements including, but not exclusively the [...]

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Today is the UN’s World Press Freedom Day.
The Royal Gazette has published its Code of Practice, which is based on British Press Complaints Council rules.  I propose that other local news media work together to develop this into a common code. The initiative should come from the media, not from Government which must [...]

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Dr. Brown’s revenge fantasy on the Royal Gazette has also attracted coverage in the Press Gazette, a popular magazine for journalists.
[Royal Gazette editor Bill Zuill] said “My own view is that Sunshine Week was the final nail in the coffin for government. They may have sped up a plan that was already in place to [...]

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Life’s too short to watch CITV when there’s Spongebob and that pink-haired church lady on other channels. My position may change when they start providing complete live coverage of the House and Senate.
But I doubt it: a Government station that produces programmes promoting Government policies is a propaganda vehicle. Period. The [...]

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While Bermuda continues to fart around, Cayman Islands have moved to the next stage of implementing “freedom of information” (FOI).
You may recall that - after Bermuda announced that it would pursue PATI - Cayman picked up the cause, drafted legislation and sought input from international experts such as the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, then revised [...]

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Dr. Brown has responded to IAPA’s criticism with a letter that oozes with false sincerity and contorted logic.
There is a further point that I would like to make personally because I am a former newspaperman. I know that newspapers around the world have seen a decline in readership and advertising. If that global trend is [...]

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